Working from the fringes of Greensboro politics and development to build a brighter future for Greensboro into the 21st Century and beyond.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

A comment left at Greensboro News and Record's Editorial Board writer Doug Clark's story on redistricting

Is it true that minorities have been fighting to get rid of at-large positions Doug, because it leaves the majority of whites to control local governments?

Is it true that four of the newly drawn district favor black candidates?

Why did the Grand Prairie City Council agree to redraw its boundaries to settle a lawsuit alleging violations of the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

An earlier lawsuit, which Rodriguez filed against the Grand Prairie school district, led the district to replace its at-large seats with single-member district seats.

The federal lawsuit contended that the city’s electoral system was set up in “favor of self-interest and maintaining the existing power structure.” All council members are non-Hispanic whites, although the city population is 43 percent Hispanic.
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Have at-large seats historically reduced minority representation Doug?
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Why would a "suit filed by the ACLU and Missouri NAACP contends that the electoral systems being used in Ferguson also contribute to the African-American community’s lack of effective political power by “locking African-Americans out of the political process” through use of at-large elections"?

Why is "the typical remedy in these suits is the creation of single-member districts"?
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Why did "Fayette County, Georgia" go to a "district system rather than at-large voting" after "a lawsuit filed against the county by the NAACP more than three years ago claiming that the at-large voting system violated the Voting Rights Act because it prevented minorities from being elected to the school board and county commission"?

Why did "U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten agree, ruling in early 2014 that the at-large system must be replaced with five voting districts"?
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Do you know what you're fighting for Doug?